SOCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE ELDERLY AND INTERGENERATIONAL SOLIDARITY IN THE CONTEXT OF DEMOGRAPHIC AGEING: WESTERN EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/humanitas/2025.4.25Keywords:
history of old age, institutionalization, intergenerational solidarity, historical practices of social support, demographic ageing, social institutions, intergenerational interaction, ageismAbstract
The relevance of this study is driven by the rapid increase in the proportion of older adults in the demographic structure of society and the complex challenges arising from this process. The article focuses on historically shaped approaches to intergenerational interaction, particularly the transformation of state institutions, family models, and social practices in ensuring care and support for the elderly. The aim of the article is to conduct a retrospective analysis of social support practices for older people as a mechanism of intergenerational interaction in the traditions of Western European civilization. Special attention is given to the role of these practices in shaping the society’s adaptive capacity in response to contemporary demographic challenges associated with population ageing. The study applies an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating historical-comparative, structural-functional, and hermeneutic methods. A retrospective analysis of Western European practices of social support for the elderly is conducted in the context of evolving social institutions. The originality of this approach lies in interpreting social support institutions not only as mechanisms of protection but also as factors that reconfigure (and in some cases weaken) the natural basis of intergenerational interaction. It is argued that institutional support, as a form of “formalized solidarity,” coexists with “emotional solidarity” rooted in family experience. When the former begins to dominate the latter, functional substitution occurs, which in the long term leads to the erosion of the intergenerational contract. The retrospective analysis reveals that intergenerational solidarity and various forms of old-age support have deep historical roots in the European tradition, functioning not only as a humanitarian norm but also as a key social mechanism for adapting society to demographic change. The evolution of these practices highlights the importance of preserving the core principles of intergenerational interaction–such as responsibility and solidarity–which contribute to the integration of older people into social life and support intergenerational balance. The findings may serve as a conceptual basis for developing strategies of active ageing rooted in historical experience and relevant to the challenges of the 21st century.
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